It is well known in motor vehicles to restrain a seated occupant by a lap belt and a shoulder belt which reach around the occupant torso.
It is also known to provide a seat belt tensioning device which forcibly tensions the seat belt in response to a vehicle condition such as vehicle deceleration.
In one form, the seat belt tensioning device has included a seat belt reel which is forcibly rotated by a pyrotechnic charge in order to wind up the belt and thereby tension the belt about the occupant. The present invention provides a new and improved seat belt tensioning device.